Eden plants giant trees

The Eden Project celebrated its 15th birthday last week and to mark the occasion conducted a mass tree-planting on the hillside overlooking their famous biomes.

But not just any trees - the 40 saplings were grown from cuttings of giant Redwood trees which can live for 4,000 years and grow to 400 feet tall.  Although they are thousands of miles from their native California and Oregon, they are expected to thrive in the warm, damp climate of Cornwall.

The project is in partnership with the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive (AATA), an organisation dedicated to preserving ancient trees.  Redwood trees are the tallest living things on the planet but almost all have been felled in the last 150 years.  The survivors are under threat from drought, fires and the climate they thrive in declining.

AATA co-founder David Milarch says "This is an unique archive, a living library of genetics that can be utilised for our generation and for hundreds of generations into the future to rebuild and replace what we've damaged."

The saplings (clones from some of the tallest and oldest giant trees in the world) will grow to become Europe's first Redwood forest and will act as a dramatic gateway to visitors arriving at the attraction.

If you’re planning to visit the Eden Project and want to stay in Cornwall, we have over 450 cottages for you to choose from.